cursed glitter and other unexpected things
by Someone aka Me
Summary: Arthur gets covered in cursed glitter, fails to catch a criminal, and finds his son a new toy. He still doesn't understand why they're called "Furby" though.


**QLFC** : Round 3, Chaser 2, Holyhead Harpies: main prompt: furby.

Optional prompts: Genre: humour. Genre: family. Object: glitter.

AU in that furbies were invented earlier than in reality, because young Charlie needed a furby.

 **HSW &W (C&A)**: Assignment 12: Gardening: Task 13: A flag - Write about someone claiming something as their own.

...

It starts with a raid.

Well, no. The raid comes after.

It starts with a Muggle calling the police because her child's toy is haunted.

These are the types of calls that eventually make their way to Arthur's offices.

Except that it turns out it's not just the one toy.

It's _all of them_.

The Muggles don't seem to be able to turn them off, not even when they remove the so-called batteries that are supposed to power them.

So what Arthur expects to be a single case of a cursed object turns into a factory raid, and he doesn't have a lot of support, so it's just him sprinting after a man in robes, through a toy factory.

Arthur shoots a spell at him. He throws up a shield charm and Arthur's stunner ricochets, hitting a giant vat, which tips. He has too much momentum to skid to a stop before the vat tips completely on its side.

It's full of _glitter_.

The kind of glitter Molly uses with the kids when they do crafts and then curses it for days afterward, because even with magic it's impossible to clean up _all_ the glitter.

The glitter spills and flies through the air and completely coats Arthur, head to toe.

By the time he emerges from the pile, spitting glitter to try to get it out of his mouth, the man in the robes is long gone.

He sighs and starts collecting what he can for evidence.

…

They call them Furby, except that Arthur doesn't think they look like bees at all. Actually, they look exactly like puffskeins, except with ears and a beak.

The curse is in the glitter.

What kind of evil person puts a curse in _glitter_?

On the plus side, it doesn't seem to do anything to _people_ , because he doesn't want to know what would happen after taking a bath in the stuff.

He faithfully fills out the incident report on the factory raid, filing it with a sigh. He doesn't know why he bothers. No one is going to read it. No one is going to go after that man, no matter how many Muggles he's terrorized with his toys.

He looks at the Furby that he's put on his desk. It stares back at him, unblinking. It makes a terrifying noise at him, even though Arthur _knows_ he took out the… batteries, he thinks they're called.

He packs up his briefcase, tucking the Furby inside, and heads home.

…

He puts it in his shed because Molly doesn't allow him any Muggle objects in the house — especially if they're from his work. She says it's to keep them away from the youngest children — Bill and Charlie and Percy know enough to stay away from cursed objects, but Fred and George would just run toward them, and Ron and Ginny are still young enough to put things in their mouths without thinking.

He's sitting on a stool, staring at the Furby on his work table, when Charlie comes in.

"Time for dinner, Dad," he says.

Arthur hums at the ten-year-old as Charlie comes up beside him.

"Is that a puffskein? Why are its ears like that? Has it been bred? Why do you have it?"

Arthur smiles, looking down at his inquisitive son. He's not surprised Charlie recognized the resemblance to the puffskein — he's always been obsessed with magical creatures of all sorts.

"It's a Furby," Arthur says, and that's when the toy chuffs at him. It's almost like a puffskein purr, except that it's lower in pitch and closer to horrifying than soothing.

"Can I touch it? I need you to let me touch it. It's so _fluffy_."

Arthur can't help but laugh.

"Sure, Charlie. You can touch it."

His son approaches the Muggle toy with the same caution as he would a fire-breathing dragon, hand moving slowly and always in view.

"Hey there," Charlie says.

The Furby chitters at him in response.

Charlie grins, stroking a line in the fur along the top of its head.

"What's your name?"

"Charlie?" Arthur asks. "You know it's a toy, right?"

Twisting his head to look at him, Charlie blinks. "It… it's not a puffskein?"

"No. Someone made toys that looked like puffskeins."

"Do you need it?"

Arthur considers that. He doesn't, exactly. He's not even sure why he brought it home, except that he was curious, as he always is. And the curse isn't even a dangerous one. It only scared the Muggles because they couldn't understand what was happening.

"Not really. Why?"

Charlie widens his eyes and lets his bottom lip wobble a little, because Bill has been teaching him terrible tricks.

"Can I keep it? Please, Dad? Mum's always saying we can't afford a pet because it's too expensive but this one doesn't need to be fed or anything and I'll make sure it's just mine and doesn't bother anyone else and—"

Arthur is laughing as he interrupts. "All right, all right. You can have it. But it never turns off, so you have to deal with the noises it makes."

"Thanks, Dad!" Charlie grins, wide and bright, claiming the Furby off the counter. He draws a hand through its fur and then clutches it tightly to his chest. "You're mine now," he says to the toy. "We're going to have so much fun." His eyes are soft and pleased and Arthur smiles at the pure joy clear on his son's face.

"Go put it in your room before dinner," Arthur says, ushering him outside and locking the door to shed.

"Of course," Charlie calls, bounding into the house and up the stairs toward his room. Smiling, Arthur moves into the kitchen and greets Molly with a kiss on the cheek.

"If that kid doesn't grow up to work with creatures of some sort," Arthur says, "I'll eat my hat."

"You're not wearing a hat, dear." Molly looks up at him with a smile. "You never wear a hat."

"I'll find a hat and wear it for a day, just so I can eat it."

Molly laughs, and Arthur allows himself to forget about the cursed Muggle toys for now, instead enjoying the night with his family.

Tomorrow, he will begin the search for the man anew.

For now, he is content.

…

Writing Month: 1054

Dragons: 1054

Gryffindor Themed Prompts: Arthur Weasley

Character App: 19. (word) Faithful

Disney: C3: Olaf - Write something fluffier than the fluffiest fluff.

Showtime: 1. Price and Son Theme / The Most Beautiful Thing in the World - (character) Charlie Weasley

Buttons: D2: "I need you to let me touch it."

Lyric Alley: 12. Dismissed every rule to abide by

Debate 1: Family, the Weasleys

Insane House: trait: family oriented


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